The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted consignments of cocaine concealed in a local mortar and the false bottom of a backpack destined for China and Italy, as operatives intensified efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks across the country.
The agency disclosed that the seizures were made by officers of its Directorate of Operations and General Investigations (DOGI) during operations at a logistics company in Lagos on Thursday, July 30, 2026.
According to the NDLEA, 250 grams of cocaine were expertly concealed in the base of a locally made mortar packaged in a carton for export to China, while another 500 grams of the illicit drug were hidden inside the false compartment of a backpack being shipped to Italy.
In a separate operation in Rivers State, NDLEA operatives arrested a 38-year-old suspected drug dealer, Ugo Gift Okonkwo, at Eagle Island, Port Harcourt, following credible intelligence.
The suspect was apprehended on Sunday, July 26, with various quantities of cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine, Swinol, tramadol and codeine syrup.
In Anambra State, officers conducting a stop-and-search operation at the DMGS Roundabout in Onitsha intercepted a truck with registration number XK 131 BDG carrying 26,000 bottles of codeine syrup weighing about 3,960 kilograms. The truck driver, identified as 40-year-old Chinedu Nwanze, was arrested.
Similarly, NDLEA operatives recovered 331.84 kilograms of skunk concealed in a Toyota Sienna bus with registration number KUJ 26 DV along the Kwale/Ughelli Expressway in Delta State on July 26.
In Nasarawa State, a 64-year-old suspect, Joseph Nwaeke, was arrested on July 28 at Asso Angwan Muazu in Karu Local Government Area with 68 kilograms of skunk and 29 grams of methamphetamine.
Meanwhile, in Zamfara State, operatives on patrol along the Zaria-Gusau Highway intercepted a 27-year-old suspect, Sani Umar, who was allegedly transporting 7,400 tablets of 225mg tramadol believed to be intended for criminal elements.
Beyond enforcement operations, the anti-narcotics agency said it sustained its nationwide War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign through sensitisation programmes in schools, workplaces, motor parks and religious centres.
The agency said awareness lectures were held for students and staff of Hausawa Special Primary School in Kano, Royal Crown School in Oluyole, Ibadan, Government Secondary School in Ibi, Taraba State, as well as commercial drivers at the Challenge Bus Terminal in Ibadan, among other locations.
Commending officers involved in the successful operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), praised personnel from the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations, as well as the Rivers, Anambra, Delta, Nasarawa and Zamfara commands.
Marwa urged officers across the country to sustain the agency’s balanced strategy of combining aggressive drug supply reduction with preventive education and public sensitisation in the fight against drug abuse and trafficking.
